Peed-water heater



C. D. YOUNG.

FEED WATER HEATER- APPLICATION FILED APR, 4. 1919.

1,433,589. Patented Oct 31,1922

INVENTOR I M WITNESS V I 1 W ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 31, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES D. YOUNG, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

FEED-WATER HEATER.

Application filed April 4,

To whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES D. Yooxc, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wilmington, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Feed- Water Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in feed water heaters for locomotives using superheated steam.

I am aware that feed water heaters are well known in the locomotive art and have been incorporatedin locomotives using wet or saturated as well as superheated steam. The connections for taking off the exhaust steam. utilized in heating the feed water have heretofore been led off from the exhaust nozzle or a point adjacent thereto, this location being chosen primarily for the reason that the exhaust nozzle is usually slightly restricted in crosssection, thus creating a slight back pressure which would have the effect of causing a diversion of exhaust steam through the connection to the heater. In so far as locomotives using wetor saturated steam are concerned, the point of connection, that is, the point from which exhaust steam is led to the heater is immaterial, for the quality of the steam throughout the exhaust passage is substantially the same, that is, wet. I have discovered, however, as a result of extensive experiments, that in locomotives using superheated steam. the steam although losing its superheat during the short length. of travel from the valve chamhers to the exhaust nozzle, retains a portion of its superheat at a point adjacent the valve chambers. It is the purpose of the present invention to so arrange the feed water heater and its connections to the exhaust passage that I am enabled to take off the exhaust steam and deliverit to the heater while it still retains a portion of its superheat. thus obtaining advantages hereinafter pointed out.

I have shown one means for carrying out my invention in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a front elevation of a locomotive showing the feed water heater in 1918. Serial No. 226,564.

place; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the end. of the locomotive; and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through a portion of the cylinder casting showing the admission and exhaust passages and the relation of the heater and its connections thereto.

deferring to the general arrangement shown in Fig. 1., A is a. locomotive having the usual form of cylinder or saddle casting provided with piston valve chambers B, from each end of which leads an exhaust passage (7, the live steam being admitted into the chamber at a point intermediate the exhaust passages. By this arrangement, as will be seen from inspection of Fig. 3, that portion of the exhaust passages C which opens immediately from the valve chamber B is di rcctly at the ends of the cylinder casting. The ends of the exhaust passages are carried inwardly and unite in a central exhaust column D which carries the exhaust nozzle E.

The heater F. which may be of any preferred. type, such as that shown for example in the aforementioned co-pending applications, is so disposed that at least one end thereof will be inv proximity to the end of the valve chamber. In the particular embodiment shown, the heater casing is mounted directly in front of the cylinder casting and extends transversely thereof. with its ends adjacent the forward ends of the valve chambers.

Opening laterally from each of the forward exhaust passages (.l at a point just out side the valve chambers (where the exhaust steam still retains a portion of its superheat) is a passage G. These passages are directly connected to the ends of the heater casing by means of the elbow-like castings H. By this arrangement I obtain a connection between. the exhaust passages and the heater of the shortest possible length and by means of which T am enabled to deliver exhaust steam to the heater which retains a substantial portion of its superheat.

By the foregoing arrangement I am enabled to not only greatly raise the temperature of the feed water but also to heat a large volume of water with a heater of minimum size. The importance of th1s feature will be readily understood from the fact that the use of feed water heaters employing wet or saturated steam as the heating medium has been practically abandoned, because it impossible to obtain any substantial degree of eiliciency by the use of wet steam without increasing the size of the feed water heater far beyond allowable limits, as determined by the necessary clearances.

Among the other advantages incident to my invention are that the connections are simple in character and are very short, thus reducing the heat loss by radiation in transfer to a minimum. The arrangement is also such that I am enabled to heat suiticient volumes of feed water by withdrawing but a minimum quantity of steam, which of course reduces the effect upon the draft of the engine. ln this connection I have discovered that the withdrawal of: the same quantity of steam from a point adjacent the valvev chambers has less effect upon the draft than the withdrawal of the steam from the exhaust column. Furthermore, the percentage of steam condensed in the heater can be increased by the use of my arrangement without affecting the capacity of the boiler. I attribute the foregoing to the fact that I withdraw the steam. before it has expanded.

It is of course to be understood that the teed water is conducted to the heater by a suitable connection such as the pipe I and that the waste steam from the heater is conducted into the smoke box in any suitable manner. It is also to be understood that any suitable form of superheater mechanism can be employed, such as the conventional type indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

I claim:

1. The combination with a locomotive using superheated steam, or a nozzle, a cylinder casting provided with a valve chamhaving an outside exhaust, the exhaust passage extending laterally to the nozzle, and having another passage opening from the exhaust passage at a point adjacent the valve chamber, a feed water heater mounted. on the locomotive to have an end. adjacent said other passage and a connection between the heater and said other passage.

2. The combination with a locomotive using superheated steam, of a cylinder casting having a pair of inside admission and outside exhaustvalve chambers, the exhaust passages extending laterally inward to the nozzle of the locomotive, said castinghaving other passages opening from the exhaust passages at points adjacent the valve chambers, a heater extending transversely of the locomotive and having an end adjacent each. of said other zn issages, and connections between theends of the. heater and said other passages. i i I 3. in. a locomotive using superheated steam, the combination of a cylinder casting having a valve chamber with outside exhaust passages, a feed water heater extending transversely of the locomotive immediately in front of the casting intermediate the smoke box and the front frame of the locomotive, and an exhaust steam connection to the heater leading from a point adjacent a valve chamber.

1;. In a locomotive using superheated steam, the combination of a cylinder casting having a valve chamber with outside exhaust passages, a feed water heater extending transversely of the locomotive immediately in front of the casting and intermediate the smoke box and the front frame of the locomotive, and a pair of exhaust steam connections leading from a point adjacent each valve chamber to the feed water heater.

The combination in a locomotive using superheated steam of a cylinder casting provided with a valve chamber having a pair of laterally extending exhaust passages, one of which leads from each end. of the valve chamber inwardly, said passages uniting to form an exhaust column, said casting being also provided with another passage opening from one of said exhaust passages at a point in advance of the junction of the two passages, a feed water heater having an end located adjacent said other passage, and a connection between said other passage and the said end of the feed water heater.

6. in a locomotive using superheated steam, the combination of a cylinder casting provided with a valve chamber having a laterally extending outside exhaust passage leading trom'the valve chamber, and having another passage taking cit the exhaust passage at a point adjacent the valve chamber, a feed ater heater adjacent the casting and having an open end, and a combination cap and connection detachably secured. to said end, and to the casting over said second passage whereby to establish direct communication from the exhaust -.passage to the feed water heater.

7. In a locomotive using superheated steam. the combination of a cylinder casting provided with a pair oi valve chambers having laterally and inwardly extending outside exhaust passages leading from the valve chamber. and having another passage taking oil each exhaust passage at a point adjacent the respective valve chamber, a feed water heater lying to the front of the casting. and transverse oi? the locomotive and having open ends adjacent to said second passages, and a combination cap and connection detachably secured to each end of the heater and to the casting over one of said passages.

8. The combination with a locomotive sing s perheated steam, of a nozzle, a cylinder easting having a valve chamber With neetion directly connecting said other pasinside admission and outside exhaust passage and the heater, whereby exhaust steam sages, the exhaust passage leading inward entering the heater retains a substantial 10 to the nozzle, and having another passage proportion of its superheat.

opening from the exhaust passage at a point In testimony whereof I have hereunto adjacent the valw'e chamber, a feed Water signed my name.

heater adjacent the casting, and a short con- CHARLES D. YOUNG. 

